When a Beloved Pet is Gravely Ill

By gerencherk

Recently I got a call at work from my mother, who lives on the opposite side of the country. I could tell from her tone and the fact that she was phoning during business hours that things weren’t going well: The dog was sick and getting sicker. A few days prior to our conversation we had reason for optimism when Daisy, our much-loved 14-year-old Lhasa-poodle mix, was still wagging her tail lightly when my parents walked in the room.

But Daisy’s appetite soon disappeared and she refused to eat, putting her in a weakened state that exacerbated her irreversible respiratory illness. My mom had pulled out all the stops to entice her with her favorite treats but to no avail. It was decision time, and the teary humans were grappling with the awesome responsibility of deciding whether to hasten her death in a relatively painless way.

There were a few medical options left to try but the prognosis for meaningful improvement was grim. They offered little compared with the ordeal Daisy would have to go through — being separated from her humans, housed at the vet hospital that scared her and facing new health risks. The vet said it was unlikely her quality of life would return. In the end it seemed unfair to do anything but the obvious, heartbroken as we were to part with her. My parents took Daisy in to be euthanized that evening.

Variations on this scene play out in millions of households every year. Pet owners second-guess themselves on whether their own selfish desire to keep the dog or cat alive is blinding them to the animal’s diminished quality of life. Plus, treatment costs often factor into the equation, as does the time commitment if the pet requires intensive human help. This week’s Vital Signs looks at the emerging practice of pet hospice, where vets take a more holistic approach to end of life care that eases suffering for both pets and their owners. For many people that’s welcome news, especially for those looking for home-based treatment options or resources for grief support.

Betty J. Carmack, a pet loss counselor at the San Francisco SPCA, says many people who come to her support group feel guilty no matter how the animal dies, which compounds the grieving process. “The more guilt someone has, the harder it’s going to be to get over the grief.”

But eventually people do often come to terms with the loss, and telling stories about their pets in a supportive environment can help them do so, she says.

Hospice care can ease pets’ pain, but sometimes euthanasia is the only source of relief for a terminally ill dog or cat, says Dr. Ilana Strubel, a veterinarian at Linda Mar Veterinary Hospital in Pacifica, Calif.

“Dying the natural way is not always very peaceful if they can’t breathe, if they’re suffering, if they’re having a seizure,” Strubel says. “More humane for an animal is to help them die with less suffering. Wish we could do that with people, too.”

Dr. Jack Aldridge, director of veterinary services for the San Francisco SPCA, agrees with her assessment of pet euthanasia. He discusses end of life care in this video report.

Unexpected good news

Final note of hope: Age doesn’t always work against animals finding happy homes. Geriatric pets in shelters can find people willing to adopt them, even if it means the new owners have to pay a modest monthly sum for maintenance drugs to keep the older pets healthy, SF SPCA President Jan McHugh Smith tells me. Our video crew met a few of those animals, who were just as loving (and didn’t need to be housebroken.)

This represents a significant change from when McHugh Smith started in the industry about 20 years ago.

“When I started working, we saw the majority of animals up for adoption were puppies and kittens, and older animals — six years and older — were euthanized just because of their age. You don’t see that anymore,” she says. “Here at the San Francisco SPCA, we have a 17-year-old cat up for adoption.”

About Health Matters

Health Matters is a blog-style round-up of news and analysis concerning consumer health and the business of health care. The lead writer is MarketWatch reporter Kristen Gerencher, who also writes the Vital Signs column. Andrea Coombes and Jonathan Burton contribute editing. Gerencher won a 2006 explanatory journalism award from the Society of Professional Journalists-Northern California for a series she did on health savings accounts.